Rapid growth of China’s express market continues into 1H18

During the first half of this year, China’s domestic express delivery sector delivered 22.08 billion parcels, an increase of 27.5% y-o-y from 1H17. International cross-border deliveries, which include parcels moving between mainland China, Taiwan, and Hong Kong and Macau, increased by 43.1% during the same period, to 520 million parcels, according to statistics from the China Express Association.

Demand for express services continues to be heavily lopsided, with 80.3% of the demand stemming from provinces along the wealthier and more developed east coast of the country. Even though the express market in central and western China is outpacing market growth in eastern China, the regions represent just 12% and 7.7% of overall delivery volumes. Through the first six months of 2018, the provinces with the fastest growing express markets were mostly located in west and central China.